The Vampire Painter

by Angela Flatt

The Countess Luchia de Sarracenia comes from a long line of very powerful vampires. She is accustomed to getting her way. Her greatest wish, however, has always eluded her - the ability to see her own face. She hires artist after artist to paint her portrait. But when they fail to capture her perceived ethereal beauty, the consequences are dire.



Enter Venus Faucher. Coming from humble beginnings, she has spent her life trying to make a name for herself as a woman painter in a world which underestimates her.


She believes that she may have found her security with the Countess as a patron. However, the more time she spends with Sarracenia, the more Venus realizes the cost which comes from pleasing a vampire.

Genres: Audiobook

271 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2025

Reviews

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful first novel that uses the familiar concept of vampires to explore a story far richer and more complex than expected, diving into themes of identity, trauma, and legacy.
One of the most compelling aspects of The Vampire Painter is its structural split between past and present events - Flatt alternates between different timelines, slowly revealing fragments of history that initially seem unconnected. The way the past directly influences the present creates a layered reading experience that rewards close attention.
The narrative is grounded by a cast of memorable characters that you can't help but root for. Chief among them is the main character, Venus. Learning her backstory transforms your understanding of her actions and elevates her beyond a typical protagonist; you genuinely want to see her succeed against the odds. Equally fascinating is the formidable Countess Luchia de Sarracenia, a character whose depth and complexity make her instantly compelling, regardless of her intentions.
The Vampire Painter maintains an easy and accessible pace throughout. The chapters are quite short, making it an ideal read for busy schedules, and the prose is clean, straightforward, and not too flowery. Highly recommended for fans who love character-driven fantasy with a sharp, dual-timeline structure!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contained multiple themes that I normally really love. An ambitious female artist fighting the patriarchy for recognition who gets stuck with a ruthless lesbian vampire patron? That sounds fantastic, so I expected to like it more than I did. I guess the characters felt quite superficial and the plot did not feel very engaging, aside from a few interesting scènes. It felt at times like a summary of some things that happened, instead of an engaging story, more as a recollection of events than the story of ambition and attraction and revenge that I was hoping for.

[Reiji · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is split between past and present to help with the pacing and obfuscate the brevity of the tale. This conveniently breaks up the story into segments and it is best to consume it 1-2 segments per sitting.

So what is the story about? It's about the class struggle and forms of prejudice or at least, I think that’s what it’s trying to convey. But ultimately, it doesn’t delve deeper into these issues beyond stating that they’re bad and make the main character’s blood boil. While the narrative seems to suggest that some prejudices are more justified than others, it also shows the toll external and internal forms of these things have taken on the protagonist.

The main character is a sometimes an insufferable bundle of hate, self-hate, bitterness, conflicting feelings, contradictions and flaws. Life has made her unable to find contentment or place of belonging outside memories of her childhood. Any peace she finds is only temporary, lasting until her mind starts whirring again.That is why I don't expect things to go well after the epilogue.

The countess has a smaller role than I had expected since the story focuses predominately on the main characters life before she arrived at the countess's gate. Countess is interesting in that she seems to be either so in touch with the human condition that she is a master manipulator or so out of touch that her genuine alien behavior can work in her favor in the eyes of someone desperate.


The setting is vague in its selected time period where the problems and attitudes run the gamut from medieval to downright modern. It is best to view this story as a fairy tale because it helps accept character's unhuman like reactions and behaviors as well as any contrivances.

Technical stuff: I consumed the book in an audio book format read by a human. I do not know if or how much the narrator is allowed to correct the work. I think it depends on the authors permissions. Regardless it feels like they read literally whatever was written on the page. There are instances where context makes it clear a wrong word was used but whatever was is presented as is so you get "revolution" instead of "revulsion" , "argument" instead of "arraignment". Most notably there seems to be an absence of possessive 's so instead of "Venus's eyes" you get "scratch out Venus eyes", "countess's hand" turns into "countess hand" , "mistress's ire" into "mistress ire". Once I noticed it each instance kept pinging my brain and bringing me out of the moment.

Here is my spoiler-filled approximate plot summary in a linear fashion

Name of the main character is Eva in present time she goes by Venus for convenience but Venus is actually her stepsister’s name, so I will be using Eva.

Eva is introduced as a Romani girl living in a caravan with her mother, sisters, extended family and having an innate talent for drawing. Her father passed away when she was very young but she overhears her aunt saying her skills likely come from her true father and not the dead man.

One day she goes into a gadje town to use stained glass windows of a church as a reference for her art. She gets harassed by a local and is helped by a passing baron from whom she runs dropping her sketchbook. Baron is interested in her art potential and tracks her down but is driven away by her angry mother. Turns out Baron is Eva’s father and years ago he took “forceful advantage” of her mother with aid of alcohol and implications of his position.

One day Eva’s mother falls ill so Eva goes into town hoping to earn money by selling sketches. No one gives her the time of day because she is a Romani and as such is distrusted and she is a girl and they think women can only draw as a hobby and I’m sure her being like 12 also did not help things. Baron (if he has a name it eludes me) shows up and promises to buy her the medicine in exchange for her taking art lessons from his friend. He reminds her that if she breaks her word he knows where she lives. Eva’s mother is cured of her fever and Eva goes to her first lesson hiding it and the baron’s involvement by telling her mother that she is going to work off the medicine by helping the apothecary around the shop.

Baron introduces her to his other daughter Venus and they travel to his house for the lesson but Eva loses track of time and the baron deliberately allows it so she has to stay the night. She initially goes along with it but then decides to run away but since it’s night and her camp is far she only makes it as far as the town by sunrise. Baron shows up saying he knew she would run off and offers to drive her rest of the way. When they reach the campsite everyone is gone. Eva assumes she was left behind and spends following 10+ years living with the Baron.

Eva does not adapt to the Baron’s world well. Venus is her only friend and her father always presents her as his ward instead of claiming her as his daughter. Venus has given up art and her father is looking for a good match during her debut. He shows off Eva’s art which leads to him commission for her in Germany, prompting a trip with the Baron, Venus, and their art teacher. On the way they visit a museum where Eva notes lack of female painters and during a hotel she stumbles upon her long lost sister. Turns out Eva’s family did look for her but they all got arrested and were either killed or scattered to the winds. After being freed her sister found a new caravan that took her to Germany and she rejects Eva because she is dressed like a gaji and she thinks Eva ran away to live with the baron. Eva faints, comes to it and they move on with the journey. While it’s not outright stated It’s implied that the baron was the one that had Eva’s family arrested.

In Germany Eva meets a nice old man who wants her to paint a portrait of what his dead daughter would look like grown up. During that time, they get to know each other and she views him as a friend. The old man stands as proof that someone could recognize her value, showing her that she just needed the right circle of people and things are not as doomed as she might feel.

He offers her a permanent position as the artist for his household and Eva agrees but that very night he dies before having made any arrangements in that direction. Presumably with the consent of the deceased's family her father takes charge of liquidating the old man’s estate. When the question of the daughter’s portrait arises he takes credit for it so that the local art museum will host it.

Baron has some knowledge of art but 0 skill with it, he has always wanted to be perceived as a skilled artist and lives that dream via his daughter and friend. He convinces Eva that the world would not value her art under her own name but gives her opportunity to speak the truth and prove him wrong which she never takes convinced that he is right but also resentful of it.

So it goes from commission to commission. Venus for some reason is married off to their art teacher who moves in with them. I’m convinced he either had some epic blackmail or in an early draft he marred Eva.
He wants kids, Venus does not so Eva gives her moon tea. They dream of running away together but the next day she finds out teacher took Venus to a doctor and they will be away for a while. Venus intercepted her husband’s mail with commission request from the Countess and urges her sister to impersonate her and attempt the commission.

Meanwhile Baron is distracted by some prince’s servant coming to inspect “his” work so creating opportunity for an escape. Baron tries to sell Eva’s mothers painting which Eva made in secret. Eva gets upset about it and he argues since he paid for all the material the art is his to do as he wants. He also struck her and while he had spent her whole life being manipulative this was the first time he hit her and she took it as an added incentive to run, taking a horse and going for it.

Now the Countess enters the picture. Sarracenia has issues related to her mother and wants to know how alike they truly look. Being a vampire she has no reflection. She hires artists, gives them one shot and kills them if they fail (by painting her as “plain and boring”. She is desperate so when Eva shows up she gives her the chance. Equally desperate Eva ignores the warning bells ringing harder than Notre dame, dimly lit, dusty house with no staff, ghost hands, having to scrounge in the greenhouse for food, sleep on the floor, etc.

Eva succeeds because of her skill and because she overhears Sarracenia’s crying and empathize with her. In addition, a tint of her glasses lets her see what Sarracenia would look like if she had a more human pallor allowing her to see a version of Sarracenia others could not. This makes her Sarracenia’s favorite person boosted by her claiming to be Venus since Sarracenia’s find the flower parallels cute.

One day Eva wants to go to town to buy paints and Sarracenia’s takes her in her magical carriage (that may or may not be a car). In town Eva spots a little Romani girl whom she had previously given food to because she sees herself in the girl.

Eva tries to buy herbs from her before remembering she has no money, before she can ask the countess for some money a prejudiced guard shows up accuses the little girl of trying to steal and starts beating her while no one does anything. Eva tries to help but is dragged away by the countess saying that she will “take care of it.”

The countess by virtue of her rank, wealth, reputation and supernatural powers (which are somewhat of an open secret) could have resolved the issue with the guard right away but why let perfect opportunity for manipulation go to waste?

Next day Eva is distraught and wondering what the countess will do. When she is informed the guard has been invited to dinner despite the countess pulling out a severed head at their last dinner Eva expects this to be a normal dinner and for the Countess not take the side of peasantry in this. As such she plots murder of the guard thinking up plans that ultimately would not work and get caught by Sarracenia.

Sarracenia takes her to dinner, where she proceeds to humiliate and kill the guard and Eva is very much into it since she saw him as a representation of all that is wrong in her life. She and Sarracenia make out, bathe together and Sarracenia bites her.

Next day Eva is given documents needed to free the girl from jail. Eva does so and delivers the girl to her caravan where she spends the day with the community. since everyone knows about Sarracenia the talk turns to how she can free herself of the monster. Eva is conflicted but indulges their ideas. Suddenly the bite mark starts to burn so people assume the darkness has a hold on her and almost throw her into the fire but Sarracenia shows up and saves her despite being upset about what she perceives as an escape attempt.

Their budding “romance” hits a wall, which is not helped by Sarracenia’s occasional bougie remarks. As the next step of wining over Eva Sarracenia plans to throw a viewing of all the portraits of her Eva made. She also offers to turn Eva so she can spend eternity painting, getting that reputation and acknowledgment she wanted but Eva rejects the offer saying she needs time to think. To Eva the cost is too high and she is unconvinced she would be happy in such life.


The showing is seemingly intended to flatter her but in truth Sarracenia expects a negative reaction which will position her as Eva’s only ally, drive Eva into her hands and convince her that only way to be freed from inequity and social constraints is to have power of domination.

The countess hosts the showing. Eva sees that the acknowledge of these people has brought her no satisfaction. They lack insight and true interest. Even a princess shows up like a cameo from another story and of course she sees Eva’s value and wishes to have her as her own for seemingly altruistic but likely power game reason.

Eva’s father shows up having somehow found out about the commission. While that is not stated to be the case I would imagine the countess would have lured him or sent a letter of praise since she allegedly did not know about the deception. Seeing Eva is distraught countess presumably hoping for the same results she got from the dinner with the guard takes the baron and Eva into the “wine cellar “ where he is tormented until he confesses his plagiarism and is killed off. Big emphasis is placed on his plagiarism while the things he did to Eva’s mother or Caravan are not mentioned.

Catharsis is not reached but ultimately Eva condemns him without any extra verbosity but then Eva learns that all the ghost hands that act as servants are spirits of the people countess killed with her father soon joining them.
Countess takes Eva’s deception in stride, Eva passes out from the revelation.

Eva wakes up next day resolving to end the countess and free the spirits. First she decides to destroy the cellar but not seeing a way she makes a leap of logic that turns out to be correct. The ghost hands exist because the bodies have been dissolved into the plants that surround the estate and by burning the plants she can presumably free them. The issue is that the gates are magically locked but fortunately the little girl decided to check on her. She convinces the girl to bring her caravan to attack the estate and take their chance while the countess is sleeping. While the girl goes off to do that Eva gets her oil paints and splashes them on the plants, she is aided by the ghost hands who for the first time ever take the opportunity to demonstrate any ego or ability to disobey/operate independently. Eva sets the plants on the first floor on fire but can’t get to the others but fortunately the Romani come in time to tear down the gates and burn the rest of the estate while Eva makes her escape on a horse. In the distance she sees the countess make her own escape.

The epilogue has Eva riding up to Venus’s house presumably running away with her to that life they had dreamed of.

so yes I'm sure you can see the potential of the story but the execution left me underwhelmed.